Diffusion of Nonlinear Editing Systems in U.S. Local Television Newsrooms

Scope of the study is the adoption and use of nonlinear editing systems by local television news departments at network affiliated television stations in the United States. Method of the study is quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Data were collected using an online survey. This study applied diffusion of innovations theory to examine the adoption process of nonlinear editing systems by local television news departments. Data analysis showed the adoption rate between 1997 and 2007 followed the classic S-curve of diffusion theory. Tests of means between early and late adopters showed significant differences between early and late adopters for the variables Type of Decision Making Process Employed and Communication Channels Used. Early adopters indicated the decision to adopt nonlinear editing was made by an individual. Late adopters indicated they learned about nonlinear editing through face-to-face meetings and office meetings.School of Media and Strategic Communication

Fair Trial/Free Press Issues in the Federal Criminal Trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols

This study examines fair trial/free press issues involved in the federal criminaltrials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoman. The bombing case attracted intense press coverage resulting in conflicts between the First Amendment right of the press to cover court proceedings and the Sixth Amendment right of the defendants to receive a fair trial before an impartial jury. In resolving the fair trial/free press conflicts, the courts managing the case made several decisions deserving examination. These decisions included a rare federal change of venue, a decision to seal hundreds of case documents, and a decision to impose orders restricting out-of-court statements on two different occasions. The change of venue decision had ramifications that made the bombing trials a truly unique episode in American justice. In response to the change of venue, Congress passed legislation allowing for closed-circuit broadcasts of the trial. Thus the Oklahoma City bombing trials became the first, and to date the only, federal criminal trials with a live camera presence. The Oklahoma City bombing trials were important episodes in American legal history; however, the literature suggests the trials, and specifically the fair trial/free press issues implicated in the trials, have remained relatively unexplored.This study employed historical methods to evaluate primary source materials. Primary sources consisted of court documents, contemporaneous press reports, and oral history interviews with defense attorneys Stephen Jones and Michael Tigar. The study identified 12 major fair trial/free press issues present in the Oklahoma City bombing case. The study explains how those issues emerged, how the courts resolved those issues, and how the courts' resolution of those issues affected management of the trials. This study also explains how the unprecedented closed-circuit broadcasts became a part of the trials and how the trial court managed the closed-circuit broadcasts

Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo

Minimal Symptom Expression' in Patients With Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody-Positive Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab

The efficacy and tolerability of eculizumab were assessed in REGAIN, a 26-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), and its open-label extension

Joint Attention Training Shows Significant Improvement For Children With Autism

This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by Kaale, A., Smith, L., & Sponheim, E. (2012). A randomized controlled trial of preschool-based joint attention intervention for children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 97-105. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: This study was supported by grants from South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority and Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway; the original authors of this research report no conflicts of interest. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

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I wish to express my gratitude to many people who helped make this study possible. To Dr. John McGuire, my thesis advisor, I express my sincere appreciation for guiding me, encouraging me, and sometimes prodding me along through the writing and research process. He gave much of his personal time to reading and critiquing this study. Without his guidance, this project would not have reached completion. I also wish to express my thanks to Dr. Sheree Martin and Dr. Paul Smeyak for their willingness to serve on my thesis committee. Their suggestions added to the quality of this study.

Systematic Review Offers Cautious Support For Positive Effects From Aba-Based Early Intervention Programs For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by Peters-Scheffer, N., Didden, R., Korzilius, H., & Sturmey, P. (2011). A meta-analytic study of the effectiveness of comprehensive ABA-based early intervention programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 60-69. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: This study was supported by Stichting De Driestroom, Elst, The Netherlands; the original authors of this research do not report any conflicts of interest. © 2011 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

The Conclusion That Abi Has Inconclusive Effects For Children With Autism May Stem From The Fact That There Are Few High Quality Studies

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: The studies for this review were obtained from 7 different electronic database searches, including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE Advanced, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and AMED. The years searched varied by database but started no earlier than 1982 and searched through November 2007. Search terms used for the disorder category included autism, autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Asperger syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), and child development disorder. Search terms to identify the type of intervention included behavior therapy, early childhood intervention, applied behavior analysis, and early behavioral treatment. improve outcomes in preschool children with Search terms to identify the correct outcome included cognition outcomes, rehabilitation,and child health outcomes. Study selection and assessment: Studies had to meet the following criterion to be included in the meta-analysis: (1) Systematic review, randomized controlled trial (RCT), quasi-randomized control trial or control trial, (2) preschool child with ASD or PDD diagnosis, (3) ABI intervention, including direct management, parent education, and consultation with community caregivers, (4) intervention delivered by qualified health care specialist, (5) child in preschool between 18 months and 6 years of age, and (6) cognitive, language, or adaptive behavior outcome. The initial search yielded a total of 64 studies that were screened at the title and abstract level using the above criteria. Of these 64, 25 were reviewed at the full-text level for inclusion. The review included a total of 13 studies, with 4 used for the meta-analysis. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) Scale was used to assess study quality. Studies with a score of 6 or higher (Highest: 9) were determined to have sufficient internal validity for the quantitative analysis. Review Manager (Version 4.2, Windows) was used to calculate effectsize, standardized mean differences, confidence intervals and a heterogeneity measure. © 2010 Psychology Press